What is occupational therapy, how does it help a patient to recover, improve, and develop skills to live day-to-day Life, ETV Bharat Sukhibhava spoke to Aarti Rumale, Occupational Therapist, Osmania Hospital, Hyderabad.
We all engage in occupation daily. Occupation is defined as any type of meaningful activity in which one engages, in order to occupy oneself. These are the activities we engage in, on a daily basis. For example personal care, work, leisure, play, housekeeping, meal preparation, education, and socio-cultural activities, etc. The ability to perform these activities independently is priceless as it promotes self-esteem and well-being. This feeling is clearly visible on a child's face who has recently mastered eating with a spoon, so much that they use a spoon to drink water too. Gradually the excitement fades off and it becomes a routine activity and not much is thought about it.
But there can be instances where a disability since birth or a traumatic /medical event can render an individual dependent on a caretaker. This can directly affect an individual’s health and well-being. The profession of Occupational therapy is one of the branches of rehabilitation medicine which strives to help such individuals across varying age groups to engage in occupation and live life to the fullest and also be a productive part of the society. They also promote health, prevent injury, and enable a person with a disability to live with dignity. An Occupational therapist works with this principle in various practice settings like a hospital, outpatient facility, mental health setup, pediatrics, geriatrics, cardiac and neonatal intensive care units, schools, offices, home-based therapy services, etc.
The occupational therapy process involves a systematic Occupational therapy evaluation. An Occupational therapist who is an allied health care professional evaluates an individual’s physical (body), social (family and support system), psychological and environment (home and surroundings). The information thus gathered, helps an occupational therapist plan a treatment intervention to improve the skills required to perform an activity. They use different therapeutic interventions to improve/restore participation in daily occupation. If required an Occupational therapist modifies the environment to suit the needs of an individual to enhance participation in occupation. For example, adjusting the workplace for computer users to work efficiently.
Occupational therapy services provided in various settings are in person, one on one or in group therapy depending on client requirements. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has made the delivery of Occupational therapy services challenging. The existing method needs to be modified with the use of technology and adapted to the new environment, to provide occupational therapy services. Occupational therapists can help their clients through an online consultation to plan their day to engage in goal-oriented activities. Teletherapy sessions, arranged by practitioners can involve clients in physical and mental activity to promote health and wellbeing. The role of family members and caretakers is very crucial in this mode of therapy.
Occupational therapists are creative problem solvers who use skilled therapy interventions to help individuals do things that they want and need to do, to live their life to the fullest. Hence it is very apt to say that “medicine adds years to life, occupational therapy adds life to those years”.
You can reach out to Aarti Rumale at arthi.rumale@gmail.com
